Aloisi won't reveal Maclaren replacement

Nov 10, 2016 - 3:50 AM Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi is keeping his cards close to his chest as to who will replace Jamie Maclaren in Friday night's A-League battle against Adelaide United.

In-form striker Maclaren is in Thailand on Socceroos duty and will miss the clash at Coopers Stadium after scoring in back-to-back games.

Around half a dozen players could conceivably fill in for him up front, including midfielder Brett Holman, Spanish import Arana, winger Brandon Borrello, utility Dimitri Petratos, and young forwards Joey Katebian and Nick D'Agostino.

Aloisi has made his decision but was in no mood to give the opposition any hints as the Roar seek what would be a fourth consecutive victory.

"We worked on it yesterday, it seemed to work well, what we're trying to do. Hopefully tomorrow it will work really well," he told reporters on Thursday.

"At the moment, I'm not going to say who we're thinking of starting with because I'm sure Adelaide United will be guessing."

Maclaren missed only a handful of games last season and on those occasions was replaced by either D'Agostino, Henrique or Jean Carlos Solorzano.

The latter two have since left Brisbane while D'Agostino is yet to make an appearance for the Roar this campaign.

Arana and Petratos, meanwhile, made their season debuts off the bench in last week's 1-0 win over Melbourne City.

Aloisi said it was a difficult decision as no other players in the squad share Maclaren's attributes.

"Macca's a different sort of player to most strikers in this league," he said.

"He plays on shoulders and makes forward runs, so we'll have someone there who will (do that), whether it's a No.9 who does it or a midfielder who comes from deep or a winger, because it's important we have someone to stretch the team."

The Roar shocked some observers last week by beating City with a counter-attacking game, which could again be effective against an Adelaide side that looks to dominate possession at home.

Aloisi said just because they were adapting their game to suit specific opponents, doesn't mean they're abandoning their brand of football.

"One thing you're going to get from Brisbane Roar, we'll try and play an attacking brand of football to win football games.

"That doesn't mean you have to have more possession than the opposition, it means when you do go and attack, you attack with a purpose."

STATS THAT MATTER

* Adelaide have won each of their last two encounters with Brisbane Roar in the A-League and will be looking for a third consecutive win against them for the first time in the league.

* Brisbane Roar have earned victory on seven of their last nine trips to Adelaide (L1, D1).

* Brisbane have won each of their last three games, conceding only one goal in the process. The last time they won more games in a row was a four-game streak from December to January last season.

Source: AAP